Member

I watched this episode of I love Lucy last night. It was the one where Fred buys a Cadillac convertible for the Ricardos upcoming trip to California. Fred payed the then outrageous sum of $300 for the car.
I would have gladly payed $300 for it despite it was falling apart.

Click to expand...

I found out that this car still exists and with only 9600 miles on the odometer!

Member

I know, and I'm not criticizing her. Again, I'm just saying I think she aged not that good the last few years. And I don't mean with that she is ugly.

See here show she almost didn't aged between 1975-1985

Hey Hoss, 1985 was 31 years ago. I don't even want to thing about what I'm going to look like 31 years from now. I'm probably going to look like worm food regardless what side of the grass I'm on (gulp!).

Member

OK today's history review is for 1965 and it's a long one lots happening in drag racing in 1965 LOL. ps there will be a snap quiz

“Funny.” Nobody here is particularly fond of them, but there’s no ignoring the impact that “funny-looking cars” made in 1965—and forever more. Most of us were initially exposed to “exhibition stockers” the previous season by the Dodge Chargers, Arnie Beswick’s GTO, and Dick Landy’s altered-wheelbase 330 sedan. Dandy Dick rushed home from the ’64 U.S. Nationals to cut up his class-legal Dodge, as per the full-scale blueprint supplied by Ramchargers engineers, then hit the road for a brief-but-lucrative match-race tour before Southeastern strips shut down for winter. Factory execs noticing positive crowd and media reactions promptly fast-tracked construction of a dozen altered-wheelbase, carbureted Plymouths and Dodges in time for 1965’s trio of traditional season openers: AHRA’s Winter Championships and Bakersfield’s U.S. Fuel & Gas Championships, both of which warmly welcomed these A/Factory Experimentals on steroids, and NHRA’s Winternationals, which banned them.

Automotive enthusiasts fell into two distinct camps, and still do. Acceleration purists derided these ungainly creations as “circus acts,” or “stupid stockers,” or “funny” cars that wasted precious time “burning through” liquid or powdered rosin. When they finally made it out West from their native Dixie, Lions Drag Strip operator C.J. Hart enhanced the circus atmosphere by playing calliope music over the P.A. system. However, followers of Detroit late-models—particularly newer, younger fans—regaled these purpose-built door-slammers as the ultimate muscle cars, preferring them to gassers and dragsters. Among this group were “little guys” who’d been racing locally for cheap trophies, eager to seize any opportunity to “turn pro.”Suddenly, anyone with a late-model door-slammer and a cutting torch could reasonably expect cash appearance guarantees. By season’s end, they were challenging not only each other, but also supercharged gassers and Modified Sports cars; even jet dragsters, in crowd-pleasing, handicapped matches.

Following the example of factory stars, carburetors and gasoline quickly gave way to injectors, blowers, and nitromethane. In a matter of months, 11-second Super Stockers evolved into 9-second “exhibition specials,” “ultra stockers,” or “match bashers.” West Coast skepticism about reports of even-quicker times back East evaporated after Norm Kraus and Gary Dyer laid down an 8.63 at Lions.NASCAR’s sudden exclusion of hemispherical combustion chambers diverted new 426 Hemi and SOHC 427 hardware and superspeedway superstars to straight-line competition.

NHRA added a third national event in the South, complete with an experimental Match Bash category that drew Cotton Owens, David Pearson, and defending Grand National champ Richard Petty. Detroit’s new muscle cars were crowding staging lanes from coast to coast.

Chrondek’s revolutionary Dial-Your-Own Handicapping System, introduced in May by Carlsbad (California) Raceway director Jim Nelson, empowered anyone in any vehicle to become a winner, regardless of experience or budget.

Nearby all population centers, dragstrips operated on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, plus one or more weeknights.During Mickey Thompson’s brief run as Fontana’s operator, he renamed the facility Drag City—inspired by the Jan & Dean hit—and invited every 200-mph fueler to a November showdown. Separate Saturday and Sunday programs were respectively won by Connie Swingle (for Ed Pink) and Mike Sorokin (of the Surfers).

ALLIANCE MEMBER

A couple of clarifications. The driver shaking hands with M/T and standing next to Ed Pink is Connie Swingle (my old room mate at the Salt Flats). And Floyd Lippencotte's real name is Bob Muravez, a Road King along with the Snake, Ivo, Tony Nancy and tons more digger pilots. It was Bob's father that handed the "no racing" edict to Bob.